The Low-Income Kentucky Workers Who Would be Harmed by a Federal Tax Credit Cut
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) help hundreds of thousands of low-income working...
Research
Indiana Approach to Medicaid Expansion Limits Access to Needed Care
The “Indiana model” for Medicaid expansion has recently been held up as a possible alternative for Kentucky, with supporters arguing that Medicaid recipients should have more “skin in the game”...
Pension Needs Far Exceed Likely Revenue Growth in 2017
The state needs to find $580 million more to make its actuarially required General Fund contributions to pension plans in the first year of the next budget, according to information...
Don’t Trust the Unemployment Rate: Coal Counties Edition
Kentucky is celebrating its drop in unemployment rate, which at 5.2 percent as of July is hovering at a level not seen since 2004. But since the unemployment rate doesn't...
Restricted Access to Unemployment Benefits Played Role in Paying Back Loan
Kentucky got the good news it has now paid off its $972 million loan from the federal government after the state's unemployment insurance program fell into the red during the...
Job Growth since Recession Continues, but Quality is Mixed
After major job loss in the Great Recession, Kentucky’s economy has gradually improved and the state has added 141,000 jobs since June 2009. The pace of job growth has picked...
Despite Good Growth in 2015, Erosion Still Hurting Revenue
The good news is Kentucky’s economy grew faster in budget year 2015, and tax revenue grew with it — by $505 million, or 5.3 percent, compared to budget year 2014....
10 Reasons to Celebrate Medicaid’s 50th Birthday
50 years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson signed the law creating Medicaid, the health care program for the poor and elderly. In lieu of big cakes with candles, here are...
Retirement Income Growing Much Faster than Wages, Spelling Trouble for State Revenues
Kentucky must begin an active search for revenue options to begin fully paying down our pension debt and make public investments that will move the state forward. One issue that...
Road Fund Helped by 2015 Fix but Still Feeling Funding Challenges
Kentucky ended budget year 2015 with a $20 million shortfall in Road Fund receipts, meaning slightly less money has come in than what was budgeted to invest in and maintain...